Buckeye Talk: Ohio State Podcast By Cleveland.com

A college football video game is headed back into stores for the first time in over a decade with different football programs getting in on the promotion. In the wake of the news, Ohio State football was among the numerous teams to create a concept for the game's cover featuring elite players from the last decade. That sparked this episode of Buckeye Talk where Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis discuss which OSU players could've made a case for being on the cover at any point since the game's last edition in 2013. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day has finally finished off Ohio State football's 2024 coaching staff by promoting James Laurinaitis from graduate assistant to full-time assistant coach. Doing so gives the former three-time All-American full reign over the linebacker position just a year after returning to the program. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss what that means for the Buckeyes going forward. Then the trio gets into the meat of what this episode of Buckeye Talk is all about. OSU has a roster made to win the first national title of the Ryan Day era. But what are the biggest obstacles both within and outside the program that could prevent it from doing so? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis answer questions from the Subtext subscribers. Among the questions discussed: The 5+7 model for the college football playoff is being discussed and there is a vote scheduled to approve it. What sporting events they would cover if they could go back in time. Ranking the best running backs in Ohio State history. Who will be the offensive and defensive MVPs in 2024? Who's the fasted Buckeye? The art of asking questions during press conferences. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State is moving on from Chris Holtmann as its basketball coach opting to fire him despite having four years still left on a contract extension signed in 2022. Despite the remaining years, the decision doesn’t come as a surprise as the Buckeyes are in the midst of yet another disappointing season that looks destined for them to end on the outside of the NCAA Tournament. Ripping off the band-aid now starts the process of current athletic director Gene Smith and incoming athletic director Ross Bjork finding his replacement. On this emergency episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird break down this decision and what it means for OSU basketball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State continues to put together its 2025 recruiting class which ranks fourth nationally with eight commits including two from five-star recruits, On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis explore five of the most important targets left on the board and what landing them would say about the program. They also have a quick conversation about new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and his potential impact on OSU's quarterback recruiting efforts. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day pivoted to Chip Kelly as Ohio State's offensive coordinator after losing Bill O'Brien and he might have found the perfect fit. The Buckeyes' offensive personnel features plenty of players Kelly has been known to maximize in the past across multiple places in college football. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis explore the impact of Kelly as Ohio State's offensive coordinator and the potential changes to the run game. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day worked quickly to find a replacement for Bill O'Brien when Ohio State's new offensive coordinator left for Boston College three weeks after getting the job. The abrupt change provided a chance for Day to come full circle in his coaching career as he is expected to bring in Chip Kelly from UCLA. The two have a long-standing relationship with Kelly being Day's offensive coordinator at New Hampshire, then hiring him onto his staff at multiple stops. Now Day's former mentor is expected to head to Columbus to take over the offense at a time when Day feels it's necessary to step away from playcalling. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis take a look at the new hire and its impact on Ohio State. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day hired Bill O'Brien to run Ohio State football's offense and now O'Brien is walking away just a month after getting to Columbus. Choosing to hand the offense over to someone else was a significant step in Day's growth as a head coach. He admitted it wasn't something he wanted to do, but would have to do for the sake of the program. He thought he'd found the perfect person to hand things off to in O'Brien. But now he'll have to find a Plan B. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss the impact of O'Brien's departure and where OSU turns to news to find an offensive coordinator. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before the 2020 season the Buckeye Talk crew took the time to map out the college football landscape and where Ohio State fit into it. Doing so led to a deep discussion about the tiers of the sport in deciding which teams have realistic championship expectations, who could never dream of having those and everyone else in between. A lot has changed since then (even the makeup of the Buckeye Talk pod). All of that change made this the perfect time to update that list as the sport heads into a 12-team College Football Playoff and two conferences have started bringing many of the sports national powers. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis look at all 69 Power Five programs in the 'Tiers Pod 2.0' as the sport heads into a new era. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Wednesday press conference was supposed to be Ryan Day's first chance of 2024 to talk about all of the good things happening around the Ohio State football program over the past month or so. Instead thanks to a recent job opening at Boston College, it turned into a day filled with questions on whether Day would have to go out and make a decision about the future of his program that he already wasn't completely excited to do. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird discuss Bill O'Brien being potential departure just weeks after being hired as OSU's offensive coordinator. They also talk about why Day chose that now was the perfect time to give up playcalling, a position battle on the right side of the offensive line and what the quarterback battle could look like. Then Stephen and Andrew Gillis talk about Dominic Kirks as the only player in the Buckeyes' 2024 recruiting class who was still unsigned heading into this week. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad c

Ryan Day is entering his sixth season as Ohio State football's head coach and his coaching staff has seen a ton of turnover through the years. He's still relatively young in terms of head coaching experience but these years have shown how Day likes to go about building a staff and where his philosophy is potentially evolving. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis look at Day's hiring practices and what it says about his ability to do that part of the head coaching job. The discussion highlights the difference in building his offensive and defensive staff in a mix of successful and unsuccessful hires, with some coaches being retained and others being promoted from within. The offensive coaching staff has seen more stability, while the defensive coaching staff has experienced more turnover. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis answer questions from the Subtext subscribers. Among the questions discussed: How should Ohio State deploy a coaching staff in a world where you're allowed to have 15 people? Which freshman quarterback is a better fit for the Buckeyes' offense; What it takes to be a good recruiter and why Tim Walton and Brian Hartline have been so successful; How the Buckeyes' 2024 defense stacks up against Georgia's unit in 2021; Why Signing Day still matters. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

College football is in this weird place right now where a lot is going on and all of it is happening on top of each other. It's what happens when you try to combine a multi-billion dollar sport with the traditional standards of academia. It needs to be fixed and in this hypothetical scenario, Buckeye Talk has been tasked with fixing it. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis try to fix the sport by each giving the three things they'd change if they were put in charge of college football. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Ten is expanding to 18 teams which means 17 teams are standing in the way of Ohio State's goals of winning the conference in 2024. As a way to figure out the conference’s new hierarchy, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis use this Friday episode of Buckeye Talk to discuss the new-look conference in a way inspired by a question from one of out Subtext subscribers: ‘Can we get a big ten power rankings but explained in terms of fast food?’ This episode gets a little weird but in the best way possible. It’s a pod about football, in a nonsensical fashion, which has always been at the heart of what Buckeye Talk is supposed to be. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis discuss the most important things Ohio State needs to do on the recruiting trail for its 2025 class. Among those topics is a conversation about the defensive line and offensive line recruiting. Plus a discussion on the health of OSU's NIL situation and how the 2024 roster provides proof of that. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Buckeye Talk, the hosts discuss the recent interviews with new Ohio State players. Among the things Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss Why Will Howard’s role as a runner at Ohio State may be different from his time at Kansas State, as he emphasized his development as a pocket passer; Why Quinshon Judkins chose Ohio State and pairing with TreVeyon Henderson in the backfield; Seth McLaughlin on his snapping issues last season and the coaching staff’s plan to address them; What influenced Caleb Downs’ decision to transfer to Ohio State after leaving Alabama and; How Howard handled his first public appearance as an Ohio State quarterback. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winter works are in full swing as Ohio State prepares for the 2024 football season. The Buckeyes are bringing back a ton of talent on offense and defense while also making some key additions in the transfer portal. But the offseason is just as much about young guys looking to turn heads in a way that eventually turns into something on the field. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis take a look at some of those players. This isn’t a conversation about the already-established stars of the team. But instead one about a few players that can use this winter and spring to gain something important. Whether it pays off in 2024, or in laters seasons. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State's 2025 recruiting class has been busy in recent weeks as it starts to rack up the commitments. But many of those lately have come on defense which has been a positive change of pace. Now it seems the offense is getting in on the actions with a commitment from fou-star offensive lineman Carter Lowe. On this Monday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis discuss what Lowe brings to the class plus a bevy of other happenings in the recruiting world for OSU. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State failed to live up to the standard that had been set in the Ryan Day era offensively even with what Marvin Harrison Jr. achieved. That resulted in making a few changes at key positions mixed with a few returns from guys who probably came into the season expecting it to be their last. That combination makes for an interesting offseason featuring a few position battles and a few more interesting questions across the board. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis project the offensive starters. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State is bringing back practically every major piece from one of the nation's best defenses while also bringing in a major addition by way of the transfer portal. As the Buckeyes head into winter workouts and prepare for the 2024 season, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis use this episode to dive into what things may look like. That starts by looking into Nathan's projected depth chart and using it to have a deeper conversation about a unit that might give defensive coordinator Jim Knowles more options than he's ever had. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices